


Guiding Light

by p_ogman



Series: Sleepy Bois Inc Fics (Dream SMP + Origins SMP) [3]
Category: Dream SMP - Fandom
Genre: Angel of Death Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Author is a Technoblade Apologist (Video Blogging RPF), Blood God Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Childhood, Deity Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Family, Fluff, Gen, Good Parent Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Hurt/Comfort, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Parent Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Phil Watson-centric (Video Blogging RPF), Piglin Hybrid Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Sickfic, Wilbur Soot and Technoblade and TommyInnit are Siblings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-12 17:29:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28764084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/p_ogman/pseuds/p_ogman
Summary: A lonely angel starts to acquire a family.(Or, a SBI in the DSMP oneshot series. Table of contents on first chapter.)
Relationships: Technoblade & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit & Phil Watson
Series: Sleepy Bois Inc Fics (Dream SMP + Origins SMP) [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2094897
Comments: 36
Kudos: 304
Collections: Purrsonal Picks





	1. Table of Contents

**Author's Note:**

> I felt annoying posting a bunch of oneshots, especially since a lot have the same head canons/ideas for the set up so I made this so I can dump them all here lol! Since Phil and Techno are my favorites, a lot of stories may focus on them sorry. I'll probably include Ranboo, Wilbur, and Tommy later on too. Archive warnings is like that because uhh y'know (looks at Wilbur)
> 
> Also shout out to ultrasexhaver on twitter. She's super pog and we come up with so many head canons together :)

(Just a reminder, these stories are all set in the same universe and might reference past chapters. The stories are mostly standalone though :)

Chapter 1 - "First Words" - Phil is a lonely angel who's been around since the beginning of times. Well, until he finds a baby Piglin hybrid in the Nether.

Chapter 2 - "Memories" - Phil has a photo album for all three of his sons. However, due to the camera not being invented yet, he only has ancient depictions of Techno's childhood. In comes time traveler Karl to help.

Chapter 3 - "Antarctic Empire" - Techno reflects on how his father followed him without a doubt into the making of an empire, despite having to leave his other two sons behind.

Chapter 4 - "Caged" - Phil isn't doing so well in house arrest with only the ghost of his dead son and his captors for company. Techno and Tommy decide to do something about it.

Chapter 5 - "Nuggets" - Tommy's favorite food as a child is chicken nuggets. But Wilbur doesn't enjoy them as much as. Cue Wilbur tricking his younger brother into believing something horrible hehe.

Chapter 6 - "Sick Days and a Prayer Answered" - Phil grows ill with only his two youngest home. They do the best they can, but thing's don't look bright.


	2. First Words

If you asked Phil when was the last time he spoke to another being, mortal or not, he wouldn’t be able to tell you. It was so long since he decided to dwell in a lonely cabin in the middle of lush grasses. He had decided that hiding his true nature was too difficult, and he had tried and failed at attempting to live a peaceful life among humans before. 

He used to help humans get new foods to grow to stay alive. He even fought the dragon in the End so they can gain access to it. Humans were finicky beings though, and after a while they grew scared of the angel and resorted to violence. Phil knew very well he could have just fought them, but it didn’t seem right to him. Easily bringing them down would only cause them to fear him more. He thought it was best if his life stayed separate from theirs. Now he spends his day gathering resources and building odd things around his home for only him to see.

The day was like every other when his life changed. He was in the Nether at the time. The stacks of netherrack and endless seas of lava waving through the thick heat was an image that he was familiar with. He’s been to the hellscape many times, but the humid air and sweltering temperatures never failed to make him feel miserable after a while. He loathed the hellscape greatly, but the ancient debris needed to create netherite could be found nowhere else.

After blowing up many beds and having close encounters with falling into lava, he only ended up with barely enough ancient debris to make a single ingot of netherite. His wings felt stiff in the heat, and his ears were ringing from the amount of times he was close to the explosions he detonated. It was time to go home.

He sighed as he spread his wings and flew his way back up to the surface of the Nether, flying past a group of Piglins below. He’s never made much effort to get to know the species besides some trades he’s made with gold. He knew they were quite aggressive, and they valued the shiny resource greatly. He almost flew past without a thought, but something wasn’t right with the group.

They were surrounding something, almost knocking each other over as they cornered the obscured thing. Phil frowned at the sight, and was about to turn away. He would have chalked it up as the creatures finding gold, but the sound of pained squealing that was quickly cut off told him otherwise. Were they killing each other?

Curious at the peculiar nature of the mobs, he swiftly flew down from afar and let his wooden sandals hit the rock ground before he quietly took a closer look. The screams and squealing were sounding off again and as Phil got closer most of the Pigmen were already fallen over on the ground. He blinks when he sees the culprit of all the commotion.

A tiny Pigman sits in the middle of the bodies with blood on his hands. The child, despite his obvious strength, is a peculiar thing. He had the usual Piglin ears and a slightly pink complexion, but he’s also oddly human looking. The child looks at him with round eyes. He’s smiling; either completely unaware of what he just did or very much aware. Phil’s eyes soften.

“Hello there mate.”, He says as he kneels down next to him. The child reaches out and touches his hair with his bloodstained hands. Phil laughs and gently pushes them away before he can dirty his hair more. 

“Now now, none of that.”, He says gently when the child begins to whine. He picks him up. He’s quite large for such a young thing, but Phil can manage to carry him in his arms just the same. He wipes some of the blood off of his face with the end of his sleeve which makes the child’s nose curl. 

He wasn’t exactly sure what he had in his arms but he knew he must be special. The aura the child gave off alone told him that this was not just some ordinary hybrid. He spread his wings and flew to the nether portal. He expected the child to make a fuss at the unfamiliarity, but he stayed silent as the angel flew. 

“So do you have a name little one?”, He asks. He isn’t surprised when he gets small grunts akin to a Piglin’s in response. He opens his mouth, ready to dub a new name to call the child before a gust of wind breezes by as he goes through the air.

“Technoblade.”, He repeats what the wind whispered to him. The bundle in his arms looks up at him at that and Phil can’t help the warm smile on his face. “Technoblade. You really are special, huh?”

The Piglin makes no other noises after that, so Phil silently brings the child back to his home. It was odd opening the door to his empty home with company in his arms. It felt like he was in a different place entirely. 

He’s never taken care of children. He used to help out human children who needed it along time ago, but he’s never taken care of one on his own. He knew Techno was no ordinary child. The blood on his hands and the aura he gave off told Phil otherwise. A burning determination to help the child kept any worried thoughts away.

“Let’s get you cleaned up.”, Phil said as he carried the child in. Techno peered around at the new surroundings as he walked further inside.

After cleaning the child from blood, and promising to make him new clothes to replace the ruined ones he wore, Phil put the child to bed. He watched the slow rise and fall of the Piglin’s breathing before he quietly left the room, leaving the door open a crack.

* * *

Even though raising a child was much harder than Phil had thought, he doesn’t think he’d trade the experience for the world. As the days passed, he started to learn more about the child and what were the right things to do.

He quickly learned the child’s affinity for gold when he found Techno holding a clock he had left out. The child looked at the golden part with such an intensity that made Phil not have the heart to take it away. He did unfortunately when he decided to start chewing on it with his sharp teeth. Techno had whined and reached for the clock, but he calmed down when Phil picked him up.

“There there- I shouldn’t really be surprised. You are part Piglin.”, Phil said with a smile. The child just played with the ends of the man’s blonde hair which caused Phil to laugh a bit.

Using this discovery, he decided to give the child a golden carrot one day as a reward for being good. Techno had squealed from delight, and Phil laughed and watched as he held the golden carrot close to him.

“You can eat it y’know.”, Phil said as he imitated the motions of biting into a carrot. Techno blinked and looked back at the carrot before he bit into it. The amount of happiness that radiated from the child was worth the agony of Techno only wanting to eat golden foods for some time afterwards.

The most difficult thing with taking care of Techno was that he always wanted to be in the same room Phil was in. The child would whine if Phil was out of his sight for more than one minute and wouldn’t stop until he saw the angel again.

“I’m still here Techno. Don’t cry.”, He would say with a sigh but he could never be upset about it really. Not when Techno brought more happiness into his lonely home.

He would read over the words of an ancient language from the old scriptures he still held to the child at night. Stories that humans called myths but he saw first hand would be told to the child everytime the sun began to hide behind the horizon. When Techno’s eyes slipped closed and his breathing deepened, Phil would smile and tuck him in to let him rest.

One night when Techno closed his eyes, Phil quietly got up but couldn’t get halfway out the door before he heard a whine followed by a word.

“Gold!”, He heard a familiar voice say. He turns around immediately and sees Techno reaching out. He says the word again. “Gold!”

“Gold?”, Phil repeats in awe. He laughs a bit and walks over to Techno. Maybe someone else would have been upset at their child’s first words being a material object, but Phil couldn’t help the smile on his face. Worried thoughts about Techno not being physically able to speak the same language had started to fill his mind. Not that he would have minded or loved him less, but he was grateful he can more clearly communicate with him.

“Gold huh? There’s none in this room I think..”, Phil says as he looks around. He smiles as the child reaches out for him and says the word again. He gently picks him up. “It’s pretty late, we can get you some gold to play with tomorrow ok?”

To his surprise, Techno ignored his words and started to play with the ends of Phil’s hair. It was something the young Piglin had done since he brought him home. It wouldn’t have made the angel mind too much if he didn’t sometimes pull at the blonde strands or try to put them in his mouth. He’s about to gently take his hair out of the other’s hands before he starts tugging, but the child speaks again.

“Gold!”, He says happily. The tone isn’t the same demanding tone as before, and it catches Phil off guard. It slowly clicks in his mind, and a laugh bubbles out at the absurdity of it all. 

“You think my hair is..That I’m- Oh my..”, Phil says with a laugh. Techno makes a small giggling sound despite not knowing what’s going on. He watches his son play with his hair, no longer having the heart to stop him after the discovery. He feels something prick at the corner of his eyes and he lifts a hand and wipes at them, and is surprised to feel tears. He usually never cried. Especially from happiness. He has a feeling that’s about to change very soon.


	3. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time traveler Karl does a favor for an angel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AGAIN, THANK YOU TO ultrasexhaver ON TWITTER FOR COMING UP WITH THIS IDEA WITH ME, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT IT AND I THOUGHT IT WAS SO POG- SHE IS SO POG GO FOLLOW HER
> 
> Also this takes place before the events of DSMP, I think Karl and Wilbur are probably like 16 in this story. Also I was working on this before the Tales of the SMP ep, so its pog that time traveler Karl was confirmed.

Karl didn't want to brag, but in terms of time travel he was the best. That was definitely not only only because he was the only time traveler he knew of. No, he's been to witch trials, pirate meetings, and arguably the beginning of times. He's seen it all, and he's come to learn that some things stay constant throughout history, and one of those things just happened to be the nice man with the strange family who lived far from everyone else.

They were sometimes a topic passed from ear to ear across the town. Small towns lead to big gossip, and big gossip leads to some of the strangest theories Karl has ever heard. Tales of gods of blood and seeing outlines in the sky late at night. He didn't listen in too much. All the tales he couldn't dream of lived in the past, and he often spent his time there instead of listening to town gossip.

He's seen them before of course. How could he not when the three kids were a storm of their own, often bickering or causing trouble? Some of Karl's own friends would complain about the ruckus they caused, but Karl could tell it was all in good fun.

There was the young blonde boy named Tommy who would often play with Shlatt's kid. The duo could be found creating pranks or games that would result in the second brother, Wilbur, to join in subtly. Wilbur always had a guitar on him. He usually was around Niki, so Karl didn't know him too well. And the third son, Techo, scared Karl too much for him to even attempt to speak to him.

He was tall. All of the sons were tall, but this man towered above them. He had long pink hair that was always tied in a neat braid, and a menacing pig's skull mask sat over his face. A skull mask! What kind of sane person wore something like that? It was fine though, because he could rarely be seen around these days. 

Karl wasn't too sure of the father's name. He could recall seeing him though. He always carried with him supplies to trade and a warm smile on his face. He could often be found apologizing for his son's antics, a laugh barely held back.

He didn't think too much about any of them. Not until he met the man in the green hat again a thousand years ago.

Hopping to different times was a thing Karl enjoyed doing when he had the spare time. It gave him fun stories to tell his friends, and he found that some things in the past explain the events in the present well enough.

He doubted he'd see anything extraordinary a thousand years ago. The groups of people were small and were just figuring out new technology. He had opted to take a walk in his boredom, and to his surprise he almost bumped into a familiar figure.

Somebody who Karl could only describe as an angel roamed around the village, a grand pair of wings adorned in black feathers on his back. He wore green robes and a heart pendant that glowed in the light of the sun. His eyes were sky blue, and he had blonde hair past his shoulders that was tied loosely backl. Despite his grand presence, he was quite short. Huh. Everything about him was familiar, and it took a minute of staring from afar for him to connect it. 

He could only stare in shock at the being, quickly hiding himself away in case he messed up the events of time. No, this couldn't be the odd man who came into town. That man didn't have great wings like these, Karl would have definitely noticed. These were times of gods and grand beings. Angels don't trade jars of honey and freshly made swords in exchange for wool right?

He could only awe at the way the people talked to the man, treating him with great respect as he spoke to them. The angel was smiling. He had a gentle aura about him, but Karl could sense that there was a great power about him. He sees a stray feather that falls from the man's wings fall and float over to his feet. He quickly swipes it up from the ground, the dark feather stark and beautiful in his hand.

Whipping his book open, Karl closes his eyes and opens them to a fading green light and the sight of his own bedroom. The feather is still in his hand. Could it be that the man was simply an ancestor? He had only glanced at the man who came into town before, but he could swear the two were identical. He smiled. He always loved a good mystery, and he was determined to crack this one

The next day Karl spent most of his time outside. Mondays were a busy day for trading and business amongst the people, and if he played his cards right he may be able to crack this mystery sooner than he thought.

He peers about the people going on their way, trying to act natural as he did so. He was waving hi to a few friends passing by when he caught his eye on the sight of green. He grinned.

"I'm gonna go say hi to Tubbo.", One of the boys standing next to the man says. He looks young, but is quite lanky for his age and is an inch taller than the man.

"Go ahead Tommy, but don't disappear for too long or we'll leave without you-", The man calls out.

"Yeah alright!", The kid says as he runs past Karl. Karl stands up straighter and tries harder to not look suspicious.

"Aren't you going to run off too, Wil?", The man said as he turned to the other next to him. A tall man with a brown coat and a guitar strapped on his back. He shrugs.

"Yeah- I'll go check on Niki. See you later Phil."

That leaves the man alone. In the shade of a shadow caused by a worn green hat, blue eyes look at the loaves of bread before them. The hat is very worn, but also somehow well taken care of. Karl is sure if he stepped close he would be able to see the pattern of well placed stitches that hold together tears in the fabric long forgotten. The man, Phil as he learned his name was, was remarkably like the angel from the past. If Karl wasn’t any wiser he’d think he was still in the past.

The thing was, that angel like most angels had a pair of wings, while this man had none at all. The mystery was over. This must just be some weird ancestor of that angel from times away. It was time to head on home. He takes a step and stops when out of the corner of his eyes he sees a stark black feather fall onto the ground a few feet away from his shoe.

He blinks and kneels down and swipes it up before it can float away from a stray gust of wind. He looks at the feather in his hand, and has to resist the urge to compare it to the feather still lept in his hoodie pocket. He looks up and notices blue eyes staring at him.

The man looks surprised, maybe a bit worried, but it’s quickly hidden with an awkward wave and a slightly forced smile. Karl waves back with his free hand while he pockets the feather with the other. Nope. It looked like the mystery was still afoot after all, and that was more than fine to Karl.

* * *

Fingers sift through old pages of an album as sky blue eyes fondly adore each picture sitting on the pages. He must have seen the pictures a thousand times over, but he loves looking at them all the same. Little square boxes filled with memories dotted each page; a reminder of what he held dear most. 

He had five great albums; each for one one of his kids, one for all the family, and another for friends or scenic shots. If you asked him, the greatest invention humans created was really the camera. As soon as he found out about the contraption he had gotten his hands on. Techno wouldn't stop complaining about how many pictures the man took. 

"Dad! Wilbur called me a swear word! I want you to-", Came the voice of his youngest. Tommy stopped when he saw his father hovering over an album and peaks over his shoulder. He laughs.

"Techno's album? Geez dad you take too many pictures..", Tommy pokes but keeps looking at the page. The page has an image of when Techno first left off on his own. He's smiling slightly, awkward from having to stand for a photo, but proud nonetheless with the usual pig skull mask he adorned nowadays on his face. 

"Just looking. It's the anniversary of the day I found him soon. We should make him a cake for when he comes back..", Phil says.

"More like a giant potato.", Tommy says as he laughs a bit at his own joke. "Lemme see his old baby pictures. I bet he was an ugly one."

"Be nice-", Phil says with a snort and sighs as he turns back to the first page of the album. "He doesn't have any. I didn't get a camera until he was grown."

"You two are ancient..", Tommy says with a wince. He looks at the drawings slipped into the pages. Ancient depictions of Techno made by humans. The pages were growing and fragile. The ink on the pages is faded, and Phil frowns. Sometimes he worried he'd forget what Techno used to look like when the ink fades away until the images were unrecognizable.

He glues his eyes on the drawings. A lone angel holding a baby pig in his arms. They always drew Techno so menacing. Maybe he was covered in blood when Phil first found him, but he was a good kid. He tries to remember the scene, but his recollection is cloudy. Will he someday forget it entirely?

"You good dad?", Tommy says as he taps Phil's shoulder. Phil blinks and smiles. 

"I'm all good champ.", Phil says as he carefully shuts the album. He looks out the window and sees a quick flash of what he thought was a figure nearby. His eyes stay on the glass, but he doesn't see anything again. He shakes his head. It was already midday. "I'll make us some lunch."

"Good, I'm starving. I say we have a sandwich and some crisps.", Tommy says and Phil laughs a bit.

"Why not? I'll make some grilled cheese. Tell Wilbur to come downstairs-", He says and Tommy shouts out an ok before he's out the room. 

He looks out the window again as the child leaves and tries to spot the figure again. He wonders for a moment if it's Techno back from another one of his trips. He can recall the way his eldest son had bragged about his mission to grow an absurd amount of potatoes. He looks out and only sees snow. Ah. He shakes his head and makes his way to the kitchen.

He hears the soft strum of Wilbur’s guitar coming from upstairs. It was a tune that Phil hadn’t heard before, so he assumed his son was writing yet another song. He smiles and takes out the bread just as the notes from the guitar halt as the voice of Tommy yelling at him to come to the kitchen rings loudly. The grilled sandwiches are sizzling slightly on the stove just as Tommy walks in proudly followed by Wilbur who has his hands shoved into his coat pockets.

“Are they done yet?”, Tommy asks as he plops onto one of the kitchen chairs.

“Almost almost. Unless you want unmelted cheese.”, He said with a laugh.

“Could have just said no.”, Tommy grumbles half heartedly and Wilbur rolls his eyes.

“Well I think it’s great dad is making us lunch.”, Wilbur says as he grins at the way Tommy huffs.

“Oh shut up Wilbur-”, Tommy says and Phil sighs as he hears the beginning of another argument sounding off. He supposes he should be thankful Techno wasn’t there to join in. Despite him being the eldest by a very wide margin (,centuries wide at that,) he was not one to stray away from the opportunity to fight, be that with words or actions. 

“Isn’t that a bit too long on the stove Phil?”, Wilbur pipes up and successfully interrupts the argument as well as Phil’s thoughts. Phil manages to quickly take the sandwiches off the pan to save them from just burning. 

“Head in the clouds dad?”, Tommy asks before he quickly grabs his own plate and proceeds to shove the sandwich into his mouth. Wilbur makes a disgusted face at the sea of crumbs that fall from the boy's mouth and onto his shirt.

“You could say that.”, Phil says with a laugh as he takes a napkin and wipes the boy’s face. He glances out the window and catches a glimpse of another shadow pass by. He narrows his eyes a bit before he shakes his head and smiles.

“I’m going to go check on the bee farm, be right back.”, he says as he finds his coat. He hears the boys shout out an ok behind him as he leaves out the door. Phil looks around, eyes look around. If it was really Techno, he would have entered the front door. He wasn’t one to sneak in, especially due to his height. 

He quietly takes some steps. The angel always kept the area lit with torches, so he knew it couldn’t be a mob he kept seeing. He thinks about taking flight to see if he can catch easily whatever it was from above, but he quickly thinks against the idea. If it was that man visiting again it could just mean trouble. He grimaces at the thought.

Sounds of rustling leaves break him out of his thoughts, and he turns quickly to the bush behind him. 

“Who’s there?”, He asks which is quickly followed by a surprised sound. He feels his wings shrink behind him, and he curses himself for not hiding the limbs before he left the house.

“I mean no trouble! I’m not doing anything- I mean, I am hiding in your bush, but I promise it’s for good reasons-”, A voice says. Phil walks over and sees a head poking out of the bushes. It was a young man, one he could barely recognize. He recalls seeing him in the village, one of his loose feathers in his hand. He was worried at the time that the boy had sees the feather come from him, and the proof that his worries were valid were right before him. How was he supposed to fix this?

“Why are you here? Get out of the bushes.”, Phil says and the buy quickly gets out of the leaves. A few leaves stuck out of the boy’s brown hair, and cling to the colorful hoodie he wore. He looked sheepish as brushed some of them away, and Phil instinctively plucked a few leaves from the boy’s hair. He was a few inches taller than Phil, but Phil can tell he was about Wilbur’s age.

“Listen sir- I know this looks bad. Phil is your name right? Well- I can explain.”, The boy starts rambling before he stops. “Oh yeah, my name is Karl by the way, Karl Jacobs.”

“And what exactly is your explanation for sneaking around here, Karl Jacobs?”, Phil asks.

“Well you see- I think you might actually believe me on this one since you’re some sort of god or something.”, Karl says as he reveals a book he’s carrying. The cover looks worn on the edges, but the thing that catches the angel’s attention is the writing on the cover. In ancient writing the words “Tales of the SMP” are written.

“Where did you?...”, Phil can barely hide his surprise and Karl grins.

“I found it a few years ago when we moved here. It looked pretty ancient, and the words looked funny so I checked it out. But..It’s magic. I couldn’t control it at first, but I can go back to the past with it.”, Karl says quickly. He sounds excited. The information bubbled out from him like if this was a secret always threatening to spill out and was now finally in the open. Phil processes the words.

“Time travel?...Actually?”, Phil asks as he looks at the book.

“Yup. It’s why I’m here actually. I went back a thousand years ago and...well I saw you.”, Karl says as he digs into his pocket before revealing two feathers. He points to them. “One from a thousand years ago, and one from a few days ago.”

“This is..Can I see the book?", Phil asks as he observes the feathers. Karl looks between the book in his hands and back at Phil before he carefully hands the book over.

"Tales of the SMP..", Phil mumbles as he runs a hand across the cover. He opens the book and is surprised to see the slightly yellowed pages blank. He hands the book back to the boy. "So..You claim you saw me-"

"I know I know, it sounds crazy. But you're thousands of years old and have wings..You have to give me some sort of break right?", Karl says sheepishly. Phil almost laughs at the words.

"I suppose you're right mate.", He says. "What exactly did you see?..When you saw me?"

"I saw you in an old village. You were talking to some people, they seemed to look up to you I think.", Karl recalls. "You had your wings out- You hide them now.."

“There wasn’t any reason to hide them back then..”, Phil says with a bitter laugh. He shakes his head. He had thousands of years to dwell on such things, and the power this child presented was something that needed his attention. He smiles. “I’m sure you of all people can understand that sometimes things different should stay hidden. So I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell people about me. It’s bad enough rumors already sprout out..”

“True. Can I ask questions though?”, Karl asks.

“Go for it. Do you want to come inside? I made grilled cheese.”, Phil says as he motions to the door. Karl smiles.

“Sure.”

* * *

After that, an unlikely friendship is formed between the angel and the time traveler. Karl was hesitant to talk about his powers in front of the other two children in the house, but Phil made sure to shoo them out of the room so the boy could calm down. He didn’t want anybody to know about his powers it seemed, and if he was going to keep the true nature of Phil a secret, then Phil could only share the same back.

After making sure the two weren’t trying to listen in on their conversation, Karl started to speak about his travels through time. The boy was an amazing story teller, and even though Phil lived through many of the tales he spoke of, he still found himself entranced in the story. Karl seemed equally interested when Phil would sometimes pop in to explain some of the scenes the boy had found himself in the middle of.

“There’s this one odd story that creeped me out. I went back in the past and these people were terrified because of the sound of a violin being played. Something about a god of blood. It creeped me out so I booked it..literally.”, Karl says with a slight laugh as he waved the book in his hand. Phil laughed at the horrible joke, but quickly processed the words.

“Ah..I know just who was playing that violin. He still does play it but, he tries not to play it among people for that same reason.”, Phil says.

“Huh? Well who is it? Were those people just freaking out for nothing?”, Karl asks.

“I wouldn’t say for nothing..”, Phil says. He smiles as sees the photo album still on his desk. “I have a third son..He travels a lot nowadays, but, he enjoys playing the violin. It calms his nerves when things get hard to handle..”

“Your son...No way- The Piglin hybrid?”, Karl asks and Phil nods.

“Techno. And yes, that means he’s quite old too. He’s a god of blood.”, Phil says. “They were scared of him just like they were once scared of me but...he’s not bad. He’d play a song to calm himself down when he needed it.”

“So..All this time your son was a god..”, Karl says as he runs a hand through his hair. He looks back at the door before he whispers “Please don’t tell me those two are too-”

“No- Can you imagine Tommy as a god? That would be so chaotic. He makes enough trouble as it is without any powers to help.”, Phil says with a laugh and Karl sighs in relief.

“Yeah, I’ve noticed.”, Karl says. He shakes his head. “So are you a god too?..”

“Not quite. They call me an angel..The Angel of Death..”, Phil explains. “It’s a lot to explain..I found Techno in the Nether when he was just a toddler, and I’ve raised him ever since. Well- He’s older now..”

“Are those pictures? You must have a lot of old ones.”, Karl says as he points to the album. Phil blinks before he smiles and takes the album and holds it.

“Yeah. Humans are quite amazing..As soon as I heard about the camera I found myself one. I have an album for each of my sons..”, Phil says as he opens to the first page. Karl peeks over and looks confused at the ancient drawings.

“I don’t think those are pictures..”, Karl states the obvious.

“No, but there weren’t any cameras back when I found Techno. Humans still managed to find ways to document things. I kept all the drawings I could.”, Phil says as he looks at one of the drawings. 

“Huh.”, Karl says thoughtfully. “I can’t imagine your son as justa baby. Even before I knew he was a god..he did fight Dream. And he’s like eight feet tall.”

“I can hardly believe how much he’s grown myself.”, Phil says with a small laugh. He smiles sadly. “He was such a cute baby though. I want to always remember those days.”

“Well..”, Karl says as an idea forms in his head. “We have the camera now right? And, I do have time travel powers.”

“That’s..You can’t be suggesting what I think you are.”, Phil says as his eyes widen.

“I am- I always travel for fun anyways right? And now I gotta see the Babyblade.”, Karl says with a smile. Phil’s smile grows, and the sad look on his face morphs into one of excitement.

“That’s- That would be amazing! Here- You can use my camera!”, Phil says as he immediately hops up and grabs his camera from off of one of the shelves in the room. His excitement was infectious, and Karl couldn’t help but grin as he took the camera into his hands. It looked pretty old, and Karl looked through the front lens and at the smiling angel.

“Do you know how to use it? You have to press the button right there after you line the shot up. It’s best if the subject stays still or else it’ll come out blurry. You don’t know how many blurry pictures I have of Tommy.”, Phil says with a laugh. Karl clicks the button and watches the shutter close and photo pop out of the bottom of the camera. He takes it and waves it a bit into the air and watches the image of Phil appear, his wide smile and bright eyes showing his happiness clearly in the photo.

“Yeah, I can use this. I’ll be back with the pictures.”

* * *

Holding the camera in his hands, Karl watched into the window of a cabin from afar. The shadows of the lights on the wall were moving slightly, showing the person inside moving about, clearly holding something close to them in their hands. Karl could hear his heart thumping in his chest.

He always tried his best to stay hidden when he traveled to any time, but this was more important. If he shows himself to Phil in the past, it would most definitely change the future. Maybe Phil will see him as a threat and move away in the future once he recognizes Karl in the village. Messing with time was never good, and maybe what he was doing was dangerous, but what was life without a little danger anyways.

He creeps towards the house, careful to be better at hiding than he was before the last time he crept to the same cabin. He was amazed by how new the wood of the place looked compared to it in the future. Why Phil decided to live in the same place for so many years was beyond him. He carefully peers inside the window. It's opened slightly to let in the breeze from the cooler temperatures the night brought in the summer. He looks inside the cozy home and can’t help but smile at the sight.

Inside, Phil holds a bundle in his arms. The baby Piglin was larger than most babies that Karl has seen, but he couldn’t deny he was cute. His eyes were slightly closed as he leaned his head against his father’s chest. He was wrapped in a bundle of blankets in Phil’s arms and the man rocked the small Piglin gently as he looked at him with an adoring gaze.

They looked peaceful. Karl wonders if the angel even remembered small moments like these. He can’t expect anyone to have a strong enough memory to remember every detail of their life for a thousand years. He lifts the camera slightly and takes a picture before he quickly ducks underneath the window, holding the photo delicately in his hand.

He watches as the photo starts to develop and smiles a bit as the image of the father holding his son starts to form. After a moment, he sits up, and is ready to take more.

He stays for a while, wanting to get different pictures. It was sort of odd taking pictures of someone without them knowing, but Karl knew it was ok. It was Phil after all who asked him to take them.

The baby Techno ended up falling asleep in Phil's arms and with a smile the angel sat one of the armchairs in the room and looked relieved the baby was sleeping. It didn't take long for him to end up falling asleep on the chair and Karl decided to take another photo of that.

He thinks about leaving, but two photos didn't seem like enough. 

A few hours later the baby awoke, a gentle crying sound coming from the thing as he awoke. Karl was surprised when he heard the faint sound of the baby speak through the cracked window.

"Gold! Gold!", He said. Karl almost laughed. Was it some sort of Piglin thing? He wonders if the baby required gold to be happy. He watched as the angel's eyes twitch before he awakes with a groan. He smiles.

"I'm right here Techno- I'm here.", He says and the baby laughs a bit.

"Gold! Gold!", He says again happily as he pats Phil's hair.

Karl blinks in confusion before he connects the dots in his mind and an awed smile breaks out at the sheer adorableness. Did he actually call Phil- Ok. That's adorable. 

He takes another picture.

* * *

The rays from the scorching sun shine down upon Phil as he tends to his farm. Years of farming gave him knowledge on ways to water and harvest the plants easily, but melons were an odd sort that always needed to be collected by hand. He adjusts his hat so the brim collects most of the light from getting into his eyes.

He hears the distant sound of Tommy and Wilbur yelling as he works. Schlatt had allowed Tubbo to come over to play with Tommy so the three boys were having fun. Even Wilbur who often complained how annoying the two younger ones were sounded like he was enjoying himself. He smiles. Techno used to be the same way.

He's about to get back to work on cutting the vines from the melons before he heard the sound of someone running towards him. He turns, expecting the complaints from one of his sons or Tubbo about how someone played the game unfair. He catches the sight of a multi colored hoodie and immediately straightens from his farm work. The odd boy from yesterday was back with the borrowed camera and a stack of polaroids in his hands.

"Mr. Philza! Hey!", The boy says as he stops in front of Phil out of breath. 

"Hello Karl, I'm glad you're back. Was getting a little worried about you mate.", Phil says honestly. He saw the boy disappear yesterday and didn't expect him to be gone for so long. 

"Yeah- I wanted to make sure these were perfect. Here check them out-", Karl says as he hands the stack of photos into Phil's hands.

Phil swallows, an overwhelming excitement passing through him as he held the photos. He vaguely wondered if everything was as he remembered in his head. Would he look at the photos and see the proof his memory was not holding up? He looks at the first photo and gasps.

He was holding Techno, the bundle in his arms recognizable. He had those sleepy eyes, the ones he had when he was tired but fighting sleep. He runs a hand over the picture, barely believing it to be real.

"This is...It's just as I remember.", Phil says with a slight laugh. Karl smiles. 

"That's good. He was pretty cute as a baby. I was actually surprised to see him without the pig skull mask he usually wears.", Karl said with a laugh and Phil could only nod as a lump formed in his throat.

"Hey uh..Are you ok?..", Karl asks hesitsntly.

"I-I'm more than ok.", Phil said. His voice comes out a bit shaky and he has to wipe a tear from his eye before it falls. "He's so young in the photo. He's so grown now."

He looks through the photos, smiling at each one. He wipes more tears from his eyes but there's too many to wipe away. Memories from thousands of years ago in his hands. He doesn't know what he would have done or where he would be if he hadn't found the baby Piglin covered in blood. It sometimes dawns on him he even had a life before he became a father. He can't imagine being alone again, or being more happy than he is now.

Karl laughs a bit and Phil remembers the poor kid is even there.

"I'm really glad I could help..", Karl says honestly. "I usually just mess around with this stuff.."

Before more words of gratitude over the deed can be said, the two hear the sound of the three kids from afar laughing loudly. Phil turns and wide grin breaks out as he sees four figures in the distance.

Tommy is riding on top of Techno's shoulders and waving to Phil with one hand as he clung to the man with the other. The gold crown on Tommy's head that he had yoinked from his brother's head slips slightly on his smaller head, but he just adjusts the heavy item before laughing and waving at Phil again. Tubbo and Wilbur walk besides them, both obviously just as excited as Tommy.

"Look dad look!", Tommy yells as if Phil isn't looking right at them. A laugh bubbles up from Phil as he waves back.

Techno is smiling as he walks over, barely noticing Karl next to his father. When he stops in front of Phil hes about to say something before his smile drops and he carefully sets Tommy down on the ground.

"Hey! I was riding up there big man-", Tommy pouts but Techno ignores the complaints. 

"You were crying..What's-", Techno starts off but turns towards Karl who jumps at the sudden and menacing attention.

"What did you do?", Techno says evenly and Karl can see the threat behind the words from a mile away. His mouth suddenly goes dry as he searches his brain for an explanation to the towering man who he just learned yesterday is also a very much scary god.

"Techno calm down-", Phil says with a laugh as he wipes his eyes. He's hiccups slightly. "He did me a very kind favor- So stop giving him that death stare behind your mask ok?"

"If you're sure.", Techno says, and the tension in his shoulders leave at the explanation and the smile returns. "What are you crying over this time then? Geez are those more pictures?.."

Phil just laughs and hugs the man and Techno blinks before he wraps his arms around Phil, having to lean down a bit due to his height. 

"Come on- I wasn't gone that long.", Techno pretends to complain but Phil can hear the smile in his son's voice.

"Welcome home.", Phil just says and Techno laughs a bit.

"Yeah. Thanks dad.", Techno just says as he hugs him tighter. 

Phil smiles. He needed to think of something he could do to repay Karl for his favor. He wondered if the boy liked cake.


	4. Antarctic Empire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Techno and Phil go to war.
> 
> (This is in reference to the Antarctic Empire from SMP Earth)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one is just kinda rambling

To the masses he was simply a monster with no mercy or feelings. Every emotion he hid safely behind the view of a mask made of bone and a steady voice that only betrayed the confidence he felt. They said he cared for nothing and no one besides the gold crown on his head and the blood on his hands, but the proof otherwise was almost always by his side holding little squares of memories close.

Phil was always looking at the pictures of their family he brought with them. Cold hands could be found looking at them in between battles and meetings. Techno didn’t mind. How could he? If he was making the same hands that tucked him in at night as a child cause bloodshed, then the least he can do is let them hold pictures.

It took surprisingly little to convince his father to go to war with him. Techno had expected to have to push more than he did. His father loved his home. He loved his children and the life he had set up for them. Wilbur had just turned eighteen, and Tommy even younger, but still Phil followed him into the arctic when he explained his case.

People may mistake the angel to be weak and incapable of destruction, but Techno knew the man better than anyone. They called Phil The Angel of Death after all, and such a title was not undeserved. He was surprisingly handy with a gun despite being more accustomed to tridents and bows, and that mixed with impeccable flight led to a kill count only Techno could rival.

Techno knew that despite Phil being more sensitive than himself, the angel didn’t mind the killing all that much. He’d wince at the blood sometimes, but at the end of the day his smile was so contagious that Techno found himself smiling. Each little victory in their empire amongst them was a treasure. 

Techno wasn’t blind though. Sometimes the angel would stay up late at night, looking through photos under the dim light of a flickering candle. He’d never interrupt, even if it was the dead of night and he had plans written out in ink that needed to be discussed. Even if his father would raise his hand up to his face to wipe a tear away that managed to escape.

Breaking the news of war to Wilbur and Tommy hadn’t been easy. WIlbur took it the hardest especially. 

“You think you can just take dad away because you’re a god! Because- Because you’re the obvious favorite! Fuck you and your empire-”, Wilbur had bit out the words raw and angry and desperate. Phil had stood quietly through the debacle, and although Techno had half a mind to tell him off, WIlbur continued with his voice growing in volume. “Just because you have fuck all lives doesn’t mean you can use his one life- Doesn’t mean you can take our dad away!”

“Wilbur.”, Phil had said and Wilbur fell silent. “I want to go support your brother.”

There was a long stretch of pause. Techno swears anyone hardly breathed. Even Tommy who was not afraid to speak his mind hadn’t spoken a word. Wilbur shoulders sagged and a look of defeat washed over him.

Phil had spent the rest of the day and night with Wilbur and Tommy. Soft kisses pressed on their foreheads as they both fell asleep against their father. They had spoken in mumbled whispers that Techno didn’t try to listen to as he stood outside the door to the room silently. He knew Wilbur was upset at him for this, and might be for a very long time, and as much as the idea didn’t sit well in Techno he didn’t regret his decision.

When the four of them stood outside their family home to say their goodbyes, Techno watched as Wilbur and Tommy hugged Phil, Phil hugging them both tightly and mumbling promises about writing. When they separated, Tommy had tears in his eyes that he hastily wiped away. Wilbur had looked at Techno and silently hugged him. Techno hugged him back, and without a word him and Phil had started to walk away as Wilbur watched dejectedly behind.

Techno wasn’t too sure if Wilbur was still mad at him. He rarely thought about it in the midst of it all, but it was times when he saw Phil cry silently by himself that the thoughts came to the surface. Phil wrote to them, and he kept his letters close to his heart. Often he would read the letters to Techno as Techno worked. 

They were keeping up with the farm well enough on their own. They had cut the amount of crops they planted since it would just be the two of them. They had chests of emeralds and diamonds collected from Phil’s work and Techno’s adventuring alike. Wilbur was writing new songs at home, even letting Tommy help play with his keyboard in the background. 

Wilbur’s songs were always wistful and carried a soft tone. He put his very soul and heart into each lyric and pick at the guitar. They were getting ready to meet one of the higher ranking members in their empire, Pete, when Phil held the letter with freezing hands. He had laughed at the words and joked how he can’t imagine Tommy playing along with him. Techno smiled at that. He couldn’t wait to hear it.

His two musical brothers. He hadn’t picked up his violin in so long. For now he was orchestrating his own score with gunfire and the whirring engines of planes. As always Phil was by his side, his laughter and sound of softly gliding wings going down upon their prey completing the song. 

He wonders if he’ll be playing this song all of his life. He could blame the voices demanding blood for his thrill of the sport, but at the end of the day he knew he was the one who liked killing. He was the one who liked the act of bloodshed.

He thinks one day he’ll stop. On quiet days of looking over maps and strategizing he thinks about his childhood home and the times he spent playing along with his brothers. Yeah, he’ll go back to it one day. A break was calling for his name, after he took over the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeee, just a little drabble. :)


	5. Caged

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Again, idk sorry. 
> 
> Some Phil angst taken place during his house arrest followed by a break out :)

“You should write down everything you remember then. I’m sure it will all come back to you.”, Phil had said as he put a book in quill in his son’s cold cold hands. Ghostbur had put his hand over the item, watching the way he could see through his greyed skin and see the brown leather cover. The quill felt oddly familiar in his hand, and so with a smile he had agreed.

He started to make a list. His hand moved across the paper easier than he expected it to the first page. Despite the large lapses in his memory of his past life, there were some things so very ingrained into him that couldn’t possibly leave him even in death. Like warm hugs from his father and old tales of adventures and dragons whispered softly to him before bed. Like hot cocoa when the winter snow came or laughter from his brothers as they played in grassy fields. 

It made a smile creep on his face to remember such things. Pages full of cozy memories. A memory in particular seemed to stick with him especially these days as he stayed with his father in his small house in L’Manburg.

He remembers playing a game with his father when he was very young. He thinks it’s funny how silly memories stick with you even when you were so young when they happened. Wilbur was never really a crier he thinks, but when he did cry or get upset his father would play the game to cheer him up. He’d curl his great magnificent wings into himself until the shiny black and silver feathers hid him from the child’s view.

It’s only human nature to get confused when something is suddenly hidden from view, and as the child he was he would put a hand over the soft curtain of feathers and question where his father had gone. That’s usually when a laugh would bubble from his dad as he drew his wings back and revealed that he was there all along behind his wings. 

“Peek-a-boo!”, He’d say with a grin and Wilbur would laugh and forget what he had been crying about in the first place.

“Again Dadza, again!”

“Alright, alright.”

The memory was happy and warm, but it did serve him to be confused. In the memory his father’s great wings he took pride in were full of life and well taken care of, but nowadays they didn’t look like that at all. They looked oddly broken. He doesn’t think he’s supposed to the underlying bone that feathers usually clung onto. The wings were messy and unkempt, and feathers that have fallen would litter the wooden planks on the ground of the small home.

He’s not sure if he should call this place home though; his father’s or his own. Even though Phil stayed days inside, he never seemed happy. He would read his books or write and write. There was a worry that clung to him from the circles under his eyes or the tense smiles he'd give Ghostbur. 

It didn’t sit right with him to see him this way. It wasn’t in any of his memories of him being this way. He would put blue into his hands, Blue that matched the clothes he wore that signaled to faint memories he can’t recall. Blue that matched his eyes that didn’t hold the same brightness they did before. 

His father would thank him, often placing the blue somewhere before he kept doing what he was doing.

He wished he knew what was troubling his father so. Maybe it was the way he was distraught while watching the failed execution of his oldest brother right in front of the house. Or the way the monitor on his ankle clung to him like a shackle. Either way, his father continued to read his books and write his notes. Sometimes he would dig down. He pulled up some of the floorboards and he would dig and dig until he would tire himself out and cry himself to sleep. No amount of blue seemed to help him.

Sometimes people would visit. They never were invited in. They would ring the bell outside sharply before opening the door. Sometimes they wouldn’t ring at all. Sometimes it was Tubbo or Fundy. Fundy would leave if he saw Ghostbur there though despite him saying hi. Tubbo would stay longer. Him and Phil would argue sometimes.

“It wasn’t me trying to kill you..I shot the arrow without thinking.”, Tubbo would say.

“At my head.”, Phil would say as his eye twitched. His anger was an odd sort of anger. He never yelled at Tubbo when he’d visit. He would mostly stay silent.

Quackity seemed to put Phil in the worst of moods. He rarely visited, but the man with a fresh scar on his face would never fail to say something with a cruel smile that would cause Phil to glare at him. It all confused Ghostbur. He remembers Big Q fondly in little bits of memories, but now he spoke of ankle monitors and anvils. Phil would often go into a quiet anger after his visits that would simmer and leave his father digging once again.

Ghostbur liked to go on walks and visit people around L’Manburg on sunny days, and it was oftentimes when he did this that he would come back to the house and find his father trying to play that same game with him again. He’d curl up in an odd corner of the house and wrap his wings around himself as best as he could, his frame shaking like a leaf.

“Dad, I see you.”, He would say. And he could. The state of his wings allowed him to peak through places. His dad wouldn’t be able to ever play the peek-a-boo game if his feathers kept shedding the way they did. “I see you! You can stop now.”

But he never seemed to hear him when he was like that. He was stuck in his game, and Ghostbur was fine with that. He’d sit next to him and wrap his arms around him as best he could without them falling through. He wonders if his hugs are cold or warm.

He decided to go and visit Techno and Tommy one day when his father seemed fine. He bid him goodbye, and Phil offered a wave and a strained smile as he left. Ghostbur didn’t tell him where he was going. He had some feathers in his pocket that he picked up from the floor, and a warm coat his father wrapped around him before he went on his way.

The trek was a little hard due to the large amounts of snow, but he remembered the way all the same from the last time he went to visit his older brother out in his cabin in the snow. It was reminiscent of their old cozy home he could recall in some of his memories. When he got there, Techno allowed him inside.

“Wilbur.”, Techno said.

“Ghostbur.”, He corrected before smiling and looking around. Tommy had walked into the room with a turtle shell cap on his head and a half eaten golden apple in his hand as he stared at him.

“Ghostbur!”, The youngest of the three said as he ran over. He had a smile on his face. “Where have you been! I haven’t seen you in forever!”

“Has it really been that long?”, Ghostbur asks. “I was staying in L’Manburg with Dadza-”

“Is he ok?”, Techno quickly asked.

“Um..I’m not sure.”, Ghostbur answered honestly. He takes out some feathers from his pocket. “I give him lots of blue but...he doesn’t sleep too much. His wings drop a lot of feathers too- Does that mean he’s sick?”

“He’s stressed.”, Techno says as an absolute. And maybe he is right. Ghostbur knows his brother is immortal much like his father. The two have known each other longer than Wilbur was alive. 

“Can’t he just leave?..He’s strong as shit-”, Tommy says. Techno shakes his head.

“We’re ready to go and break him out.”, He says. The skull mask on his face hides his features well, but the way he paces slightly reveals his underlying worry. “I’ve been making invis potions. We can sneak in and get him out.”

“Sounds good to me-”, Tommy says as he quickly chomps on the rest of the apple in his hand. 

Ghostbur smiles. He thinks having the rest of the family there would help his dad.

In the midst of the night the three make their way to L’manburg. Techno had instructed Ghostbur to distract anyone if they went close by them or the house Phil resided in. Ghostbur promised to do his best, and watched as the two marched on cloaked in the effects of the invisibility potion.

* * *

When the door opened without so much as a knock, Phil had jumped from the seat he sat on by his desk. He stood up, looking at the open door before he hesitantly walked over to it and looked out. There was nobody to be seen in the night, and dismissing it as a strong wind he shut the door and let out a heavy sigh.

The man failed to notice the other two with him in the room. Techno expected Tommy especially to burst out in song and dance about their rescue mission as soon as they had walked in. He was never one to stay quiet, but he must have read the room. Must have seen the sea of scattered feathers on the ground, because he was taking careful steps to not step on a single one. The dark circles under Phil’s eyes and the way his hair and wings were not taken care of told Techno enough.

His father was not well. 

He wasn’t entirely surprised. When the two had spent those months out in the cabin he had built for them in the snow, there were days when Phil would keep to himself and bury himself in books that spoke of revival and life after death. Every hope of correcting his sin was clung onto and written in hurried notes that even Techno couldn’t manage to read. He would sometimes be found hiding himself with his wings still damaged from the explosion when he had shielded Wilbur from the explosion. Even though Phil was one to always comfort others, he always tried to hide himself from the world when he had bad days himself.

He should have broken Phil out the day they had tried to execute him. He remembers escaping the cage in a blur. He had chased after Carl without a thought, even when he heard the sharp sound of an arrow being shot through the air. He had learned later that the very arrow was shot by Tubbo himself and was aimed at Phil. 

He looks at the ankle monitor on Phil’s ankle and feels his hands clench at his sides.

“Phil.”, He finally says which causes the man to jump a bit once again before he turned in his direction.

“Techno?...”, He asked as he walked over. With hesitant hands he reached up and Techno allowed him to put his hands on his cheeks. Phil blinks, rubbing his thumbs over the edges of the skull mask. A tired smile grows on his face and he laughs a bit. “That’s- You’re here- What are you doing here?”

“I’m here too!”, Tommy says which causes Phil to look in his direction too. “We’re breaking you out of here-”

“That’s...No.”, Phil says. “It’s nice to see you too again- Well I guess hear from you, but I can’t leave.”

“Huh- Why?”, Techno asks with a frown.

“I need to be your hidden sword Techno. If they decide to go after you again, I’ll be here to stop them at the source.”, Phil says.

“That’s stupid! Techno could kick their asses easily!”, Tommy says.

“The kid’s right.”, Techno says. “Come back with us. I’ll get this thing off of you.”

“Techno. Really-”, Phil starts off but Techno puts a hand on his shoulder and leads him over back to the chair he sat on before. Phil reluctantly sits on the seat and Techno bends down with his axe in hand and starts carefully cutting at the binding metal. Phil winces a bit, and Techno frowns at the way the object had been biting at Phil’s skin. Once he gets it off, he throws the offending thing aside and stands up again.

“Come home with us.”, He says.

“Home…”, Phil says and Techno nods. The effect of the potion is beginning to wear off, but he doesn’t bother to throw on another potion just yet. 

“I don’t know why you’re trying to punish yourself here, but we need you Phil. I’m not going to let you suffer here alone.”, Techno keeps going despite the way Phil’s eyes widen. “So tell me what’s coming with. Tommy start helping him pack.”

“Alright-”, Tommy says without even arguing. He opens one of the chests. “Jesus that’s a lot of cobblestone..”

“I’m..I’m sorry.”, Phil says. His voice catches slightly in his throat and Techno doesn’t bring attention to the tears in his eyes. He’s not sure what his father is apologizing for, but before he can ponder on it, the man wipes at his eyes before he smiles a bit. “Alright. Let’s get your old man home then.”

“Good- Techno is shit at cooking. I’ve been surviving off golden apples..”, Tommy says with a forming grin. The relief in his voice is obvious, and Techno can’t help but sharing the same sentiment. He offers a hand to help Phil up and the man takes it.

“Like you’re any better at cooking. At least I’ve tried instead of dwindling our gapple supply.”, Techno scoffs half heartedly. 

“Hey, I know what I’m good at. And you had a shit ton anyways.”, He says with a grin.

Phil laughs a bit at their arguing, and Techno knows things aren’t instantly better, but it’s a start. He gives the man an invis potion and the three head out in the night unseen under the moonlight. Ghostbur waits for them not too far away, a smile on his face.

“Is it time to go home?”, He asks.

“Yeah..Yeah it is.”, Phil says with a smile back.


	6. Nuggets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy's favorite food Phil makes them is chicken nuggets, but after a discovery of chickens having feathers..he's not s sure anymore

"Boys come in and eat your lunch!"

Tommy looked up from the small hole he was digging into the dirt ground with the sturdy stick in his hand. He gets up, wiping his hands on his shorts before he runs over to the house, Wilbur already there. 

"You're disgusting!", Wilbur says with a laugh and Tommy sticks out his tongue but quickly puts it back in when Phil looks over at them.

"Oh dear- Tommy, make sure to take off your shoes and wash your hands ok?", He says as he places plates on the table. Tommy sighs, already kicking off his shoes, but he sees the food on the plates and gasps.

"Chicken nuggets?", He exclaims excitedly as he catches sight of the golden brown pieces. He goes to grab one off the plate to pop in his mouth but Phil clears his throat and Tommy retracts his hand.

"Oh right-", He says as he runs off to the bathroom. He quickly puts soap on his hands and hums a broken tune he recalls his dad humming. He looks behind and sees Wilbur coming in, face sour as he washes his hands too.

"What are you in a mood about?", Tommy asks with a snort.

"I wanted sandwiches today.", Wilbur says. And Tommy rolls his eyes. Wilbur and his sandwiches. 

"Well tough luck. Dadza made chicken nuggets-", He says with a smile which causes Wilbur to narrow his eyes a bit.

The two of them make their way back to the kitchen after they dry their hands, and Tommy is confused by the chatter in the kitchen until he sees the sight of the extra person there and grins.

“Techno!”, He says as he runs over to the man and quickly hugs him. He only reached up to the man’s knee but it didn’t stop him from giving the biggest hug he could before he grins and looked up at his brother. “Where have you been, big man!”

“Hypixel.”, Techno says as he ruffles the kid’s hair which causes Tommy to pout. Wilbur hugs his brother as well only moments after which causes their father to laugh. Phil always glowed when Techno was home, and he knew it was because he worried about him while he was away. His dad would write letters and have Tommy and Wilbur add onto them when Techno was away for extended times.

“Hey come on, you’re gonna topple me over”, Techno says even though they all know there’s no danger of that happening. He lifts a bag in his hands and Tommy and WIlbur gasp, knowing what that means. “I brought souvenirs-”

“Alright!”, Tommy cheered as he reached out to make a grab of the bag, but Techno was quick to lift it higher up out of his reach which made Wilbur laugh at his brother’s struggle.

“Hold on kid. Didn’t dad make you food?”, Techno says as he looks at the table. “Chicken nuggets? Good thing I brought potatoes too..”

“Hey, Tommy likes them.”, Phil says with a laugh as he hits Techno’s arm softly. Techno snorts and reaches up and takes the skull mask off of his face and set it aside on the counter like he usually did when he came home. Tommy wold go over and try it on if he wasn’t peeved about what he was implying.

“Hey! Chicken nuggets are better than crummy potatoes any day!”, He says as he sits down at the table. 

“I agree with Techno- Dadza can we have sandwiches tomorrow?”, Wilbur asks as he looks at his father.

“Don’t tell me the kid still believes that sand is in-”, Techno starts to say but gets cut off when Phil quickly elbows him and laughs.

“Sure Wilbur, we can have them for lunch.”, Phil says as he goes over and places a kiss on the top of Wilbur’s head. Wilbur sticks out his tongue and Tommy rolls his eyes but he doesn’t really care. He’ll just ask his dad for chicken nuggets the day after.

* * *

It’s nighttime when Tommy next wakes up. He sleepily recalls his dad tucking him and Wilbur in their beds before he dozed off and smiles a bit. He means to go back to sleep, but his mouth is dry and he kicks off the covers before he tip toes his way out of the room.

He goes to walk to the kitchen, but he sees a strip of light come from Phil’s room and the low murmur of talking. He blinks and wonders why his dad would be up so late and with light steps he does and peaks through the crack in the door.

His dad is sitting on the bed, his wings proudly out and a relaxed smile on his face as Techno stands behind him and carefully moves feathers in place with careful hands. His dad’s wings were beautiful, there was no other way for Tommy to put it in his mind. He’s about to walk away to get his water when he hears his brother speak.

“You know, they allow flying in Hypixel.”, Techno says. Phil sighs, almost tiredly, like he’s heard this before.

“I know.”, He says plainly.

“You can always come with me. And Wilbur and Tommy too. My land is large, it wouldn’t be a problem.”, Techno continues.

“I know that.”, Phil says. “But- I know you value your place there a lot..You like to spend time there.”

“I value my family a lot more.”, Techno says after a stretch of silence. He sighs. “I can’t and won’t force you to do anything. But the offer always stands.”

“Thanks Tech..”, Phil says and Techno nods silently behind him as he places a final feather in place and takes his hands away. 

Tommy quietly walks away.

* * *

The sky is clear the next morning, and the sunshine makes Tommy even more excited for the day. Him and Wilbur manage to drag their older brother out of the house each taking one of his hands and as much as the man groaned about it, he smiled and followed them along, leaving his half drank cup of coffee behind.

It was one of the best parts of Techno coming home. He’d pick Tommy up and place him on his shoulders before doing the same with Wilbur after. It was always fun to play with him. Don’t get Tommy wrong, he loved to also play with his father too, but the man would find himself busy with the farming and other tasks during the mornings. And plus, Techno could lift them up high high up without even flying.

After an hour filled with laughter and playing around, Techno sets them both down, laughter coming out of him. 

“I should go see if dad needs help-”, He says and Wilbur and Tommy immediately whine and protest which causes the Piglin hybrid to shake his head. “It won’t take all day.”

“I’ll help too then.”, Wilbur says confidently as he follows Techno. Techno raises an eyebrow but shrugs.

“Me too- We’ll get it done early.”, Tommy says as he follows them as well. Wilbur rolls his eyes and mumbles a quick “copier” under his breath that goes unnoticed.

The three of them walk over to the coop. Techno frowns and looks around.

“Huh, he’s usually taking care of the animals at this time..”, He mutters. 

Tommy looks over at the chickens. He never really chose to go close to them if he had a choice. They were always making those odd sounds and had a menacing look in their eyes. Not that Tommy was scared or anything. He was a big man after all. He kicks at the dirt a bit as he goes closer to them. Something lying on the ground catches his eye and he frowns and picks up the object. He gasps.

“What the-”, He says as he twirls the feather in his hand. It’s white; nothing like the black feathers his father adorned. Sure, sometimes some of his feathers would be grey or silver, but this was different. He frowns and wonders if Phil was getting sick.

“What?”, Wilbur says as he stands next to Tommy and inspects the feather. Tommy shows the feather almost mournfully.

“Wilbur- Is this- Is dad ok?”, He asks carefully. WIlbur blinks before he laughs.

“Tommy- That’s from the chickens!”, He says between laughs. Tommy frowns.

“The chickens? Why would they have feathers like dad?”, He asks as he looks at the clucking animals. Wilbur opens his mouth to speak, but grins before he looks at the chickens and shakes his head.

“Don’t you know Tommy?...They have feathers like dad because- One day dad will turn into one too.”, Wilbur says and Tommy gapes. No..This couldn’t be.

“What?!”, He exclaims. He looks horrified at the chickens. His dad was going to turn into that? Were these dad’s friends or something? He’s brought out of his thinking when Techno walks over to them.

“He’s probably by the crops right now, come on-”, He says and with a big smile Wilbur follows him along.

“Ok- Come on Tommy!”, He calls out and Tommy takes a look at the chickens again before he slowly follows.

* * *

Tommy thought about the news his brother told him for the rest of the day. He couldn’t imagine his father turning into a chicken of all things, even if the evidence as all adding up. Why else would those things have feathers? He wonders what they’ll do when it happens. He doesn’t want to keep his dad outside like they do with the chickens. Would he still even remember them?

He stays quiet at dinner that night. Baked potatoes. He looks at his dad talking to Techno, something about mining soon, and shakes his head. He knew they could put a stop to it. He’s sure Techno wouldn’t let that happen either, but he has a sinking feeling there might be no other option.

He gets little sleep that night over the worry of it all, and he almost considers going to Phil’s bedroom like he did when he was feeling upset at night, but he decides against it. He turns to his side and stares at the wall.

The next day Wilbur and Tommy play outside with techno again, but Tommy couldn’t focus on having fun or goofing off. He looks over and sees their dad watering the crops, his hat keeping the sun out of his eyes and his wings folded against his back. 

He half heartedly goes back to messing with his brothers.

* * *

“Lunch is ready boys!”, Phil calls out by the doorway, and not long after the three of them go inside.

“Chicken nuggets again?”, Wilbur groans, but he looks over at Tommy and smiles. Tommy stares horrified at his usual favorite meal. How had he not realized it before? His shock must be apparent because Techno and Phil immediately go closer to the boy.

“Tommy? Is everything ok mate?”, Phil asks and Tommy feels his lip tremble before he lets out a sob and rushes over and hugs his dad. His dad’s wings puff up a bit in surprise, but he immediately wraps his arms around him and runs a hand over his hair. “Tommy- Are you ok? Are you hurt?”

Tommy shakes his head and buries his face into Phil’s shoulder as he cries. “I’ll never let you turn into a chicken dad- Or chicken nuggets-”, Tommy manages to say.

“What.”, Phil says in shock. He looks over at Wilbur laughing and Techno snorting. “What happened?”

“Wilbur told me about- about how you’re going to turn into a chicken! I’m sure we can stop that though!”, Tommy rambles.

“Why on Earth would I turn into a chicken?!”, Phil says in surprise. Techno and Wilbur laugh harder in the background and Phil sighs and puts a hand on Tommy’s shoulder and kneels down next to him. “Tommy- Your brother was messing with you- I’m not turning into a chicken. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Really?”, Tommy asks as he wipes at his tears. Phil smiles.

“Really.”, He says with a nod. He laughs a bit and shakes his head. “I..Is it because we both have wings?”

“Well who else would besides you?”, Tommy asks.

“Well- There’s a lot of animals that have wings..They’re called birds. I haven’t seen anyone else with wings though besides-”, He shakes his head and laughs again. “But you don’t have to worry about that-”

“Well- Alright..”, Tommy says with a smile. Relief washes over him, but with it comes the flames of anger as he looks at Wilbur still stifling his laughter. “You jerk!”

Wilbur laughs and tries his best to dodge the hits Tommy throws. Phil sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose at the fighting. Techno goes over to his side.

“Others?”, He inquires.

“It’s a long story..And I don’t think you’d ever meet them.”, Phil says. “Now come on boys, stop fighting and eat before your food gets cold!”

That manages to get Tommy to stop his endeavors and he sits down in front of the nuggets and begins to eat, happy to have his family there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was so stupid and silly, but it was based off a conversation me and and Ev had haha


	7. Sick Days and A Prayer Answered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phil grows ill with only his two youngest home. They do the best they can, but thing's don't look bright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tommy and Wilbur are pretty young in this chapter- I've been busy with school and sick myself so hope you enjoy!

Tommy rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he made his way down the steps. He peeks his head into the kitchen, suddenly aware of the silence instead of the usual bustling about at this time. 

Phil was usually up to make them breakfast, and if Tommy and Wilbur awoke early enough they would give their dad a helping hand if needed. Techno was allowed nowhere near the stove though. He never failed to turn whatever he was cooking into a burnt mess. He was good at dicing vegetables though.

Techno wasn't here though. He was once again out on an adventure, and like always when he decided to do so they all waved goodbye and he promised to return with gifts for them. He had only left a few days ago, so Tommy doubted he'd see him anytime soon.

But Phil not up? It was odd indeed. He shrugged, thinking perhaps his father was just sleeping in for the day. He couldn't fault the man. It was the swing of harvest season and soon they'd be out picking crops. Not to mention his dad had been mining quite a bit. His father had laughed about it last night as he set some ore down, talking about how he fought many monsters that had cornered him.

Still, it wasn't right to not see his dad up when he usually was, so the child went to the door of his dad's room, creaking the door open slightly and poking his head inside.

He sees a bundle of covers in the middle of the bed and he walks closer, watching the rise and fall of the mass. He smiles a bit but frowns when he sees his father's face.

His cheeks were rosy and his blonde bangs stuck to his forehead from sweat. His face was twisted a bit even in his sleep, his eyes shut too tightly and his eyebrows pinched. Tommy reaches out hesitantly, putting a hand on the man's face and gasps at the temperature.

It was like the last time he caught the flu and he was so sick he couldn't move from his bed. His dad had placed a hand on his forehead just the same and mumbled something about too high of a temperature before he left and came back with cool water and a damp rag to place over his forehead. Something twists in his stomach. Was his dad actually sick? 

He leaves the room, almost tripping over the carpet as he hurries over to his and Wilbur's room, shaking the other awake and interrupting him from his slumber.

"What?", Wilbur groans tiredly. The young teen swats his hand away. "Is breakfast ready?"

"I think Dadza is sick-", Tommy hurries out and Wilbur seems to wake up more at that, sitting up from his bed and grabbing his glasses to put on. 

"Sick?", He repeats the last word and Tommy nods.

"He feels too hot, and he's still sleeping! He likes to sleep in sometimes but still-"

"Let's go check on him.", Wilbur says and he takes his little brother's hand and the two go into Phil's room.

"Dad?", Wilbur asks hesitantly as he reaches out and shakes the body a bit. Phil groans a bit, his eyes slightly opening before he blinks multiple times. He looks confused for a second before he sits up, his hair falling over his face before he reaches and brushes it away. His face is still red, but he forces a smile.

"Shit- I slept in huh?", He says with a slight laugh that breaks out into a cough that makes Tommy hold Wilbur's hand tighter from worry.

"You're sick..", Wilbur says before he lets go of Tommy's hand and goes over and gently pushes Phil so he's laying back in bed. "You should sleep in more. I'll go look for medicine-"

"Wait- Wilbur-", Phil says but Wilbur is already out of the room and the man sighs and turns to his youngest child.

"Tommy...Sorry for worrying you, but I'm fine really-", Phil says with a smile but Tommy frowns and goes over and shakes his head.

"I didn't know dads could get sick.", Tommy says truthfully. He doesn't add especially his dad. Phil was always there to protect them and give them everything they needed. It was odd seeing him like this. Phil laughs a bit.

"Yup. I guess anyone can..", He mumbles and there's a little worry and confusion in his voice that makes Tommy want to ask but Wilbur comes in again, panic in his eyes.

"We don't have any more medicine-", He says. "Well- We have some for pain and sore throats but-"

"It's alright Wilbur, really. We have some herbs in the kitchen. I'll just have some tea and I'll be better by morning.", Phil says but the worry in Wilbur doesn't fade. "I'll get more medicines next time we go to town..It's not right for the house to be without them."

"But what about now?", Tommy questions and Phil reaches out and smoothes his hair unruly from sleep down. 

"I'll make us some breakfast-", Phil says and Wilbur shakes his head.

"We have enough jams and fruit to make something for ourselves- And for you.", Wilbur says. "I'll be right back, come on Tommy."

Tommy looks between his older brother and his father all smiling but still looking tired and worn. He frowns from worry, not quite wanting to leave, but he nods and takes Wilbur's hand and leaves to the kitchen.

* * *

They make themselves jam and toast for breakfast with jams their father had made and preserved from fresh fruits before, and bread the three of them had made just yesterday. Tommy struggled to get the meal down, consumed by his own thoughts and worry that he voiced through full mouthfuls.

"What if Dadza doesn't get better? He needs medicine.", Tommy says and Wilbur sighs.

"Town is a full day away on foot..I could always try and drive the wagon though. But someone should stay with him. Things could get really bad when people get sick.", Wilbur says as he looks down at the apple in his hand.

"Like what?", Tommy asks cautiously and Wilbur sighs.

"Like they could be in pain..and see things. Niki told me about how she got so sick once from fever, she cried and cried because she thought Eret was a great monster because of their size.", Wilbur recalls. He shakes his head. "I'll make dad some tea. If he gets worse, I'll take the wagon to town...I'm sure I could drive the horse right. I've watched dad do it loads."

"Well ok..", Tommy says. 

They both don't notice the dark clouds slowly blanketing the sky outside.

* * *

Tommy watches as Wilbur brings his dad tea. He thanks them, a tiredness in his eyes as he carefully takes the cup and sips the hot liquid. He only manages a few sips before he sets the cup to the side, mumbling about how he's grateful they went through the trouble.

"I'll be up before dinner time to make us something.", Phil says.

"We have left over stock from the chicken yesterday right? Maybe I can make a soup.", Wilbur says.

"That's not necessary..I just need a little sleep. I'll be up.", Phil says as his eyes begin to close.

"Ok..", Wilbur says and Tommy watches as his dad falls asleep almost instantly, breaths a little too fast to be normal. Wilbur goes over and feels his head again, frown increasing at the touch.

"I'm going to go make soup Tommy. Stay here with dad alright? If anything happens come get me immediately ok?", Wilbur says and Tommy nods quickly.

"I will-", He says and Wilbur is satisfied with that answer and leaves. Tommy stares at the figure of his father sleeping. He sighs, hoping Techno comes home soon despite his departure just being days ago. Wilbur was smart, but Techno was smarter. He'd probably take their dad to a doctor in those fancy cities he liked to travel too. 

“Techno you better come home soon...Dadza needs you.”, He mumbles under his breath.

He climbs onto the bed, laying under the covers with his dad and pressing his face against his dad's pajamas. He felt too warm, and Tommy wanted to kick the covers off but knew from the way Phil shivered slightly he would make Phil cold. He squeezes his eyes shut.

"Please get better soon dad..", He mumbles. He slowly falls asleep.

* * *

The next time he wakes up it's raining. It's a light drizzle that tap taps onto the roof of their little home, and it almost lulls Tommy back to sleep despite the heat that made him feel too stuffy. He opens his eyes and sees he's still on Phil's bed, his father sleeping but shivering slightly as his uneven breaths left him.

"Dad?", He questions with his throat tight as he nudges the sleeping figure slightly. Phil merely groans and shifts a bit in his sleep, ignoring his call to wake up.

"Toms?", Wilbur asks as he opens the door, a bowl and spoon in hand.

"Dad isn't ok.", He says and Wilbur goes over, dropping the bowl carefully on the side table before looking at Phil. He frowns before he carefully pulls the covers off the sleeping form. Their dad shivers more at the loss of warmth.

"Shit.", Wilbur mumbles before he shakes his head and looks at Tommy. "He's too hot- He'll burn up to death-"

"To death?", Tommy repeats horrified and Wilbur nods solemnly.

"I'll go get him a cold rag- But if this goes on then tomorrow I'm leaving to get him medicine.", The young boy says determinedly. Tommy nods in response.

"I'll go with.", He says and Wilbur shakes his head. 

"We can't leave dad alone- You have to stay here and make sure he's ok. The rain should clear up, and I'll leave tomorrow morning.", Wilbur says and with a buff Tommy accepts, only because his dad needed him.

Wilbur looks at Phil before nudging the man until he wakes up. His baby blue eyes looks dimmer as they open, and he puffed out breaths of air as if he just ran a lap.

"Wilbur?...", He mumbles. Wilbur nods.

"Dad- Please, I made you soup. You should eat.", He says and Phil takes a moment to process the words before he shivers and manages to sit up.

"You didn't have to Wilbur..I'm sorry.", He says as he puts a hand over his face. Wilbur scoffs.

"As if we'd let our dad get more sick.", Wilbur says. He manages a small smile despite his worry. "Here- I'll help you eat- Just like you did for me when I would get sick."

Wilbur holds the bowl in his hands and Phil at first refuses the offer but ultimately allows Wilbur to spoon feed a couple of bites before the man has to turn away, grabbing at the waste bucket usually for unneeded scraps of paper and goes sick.

Wilbur and Tommy immediately goes to his side.

"What did you put in that soup Wilbur!", Tommy scolds as he puts a hand on his dad's arm. Wilbur flounders, horrified as he holds Phil's hair away.

"I don't know- I don't-", Wilbur struggles but Phil finishes, panting breaths as he sets the waste basket to the side. He lays down, and the two let him.

"I'm fine. I'm fine.", He repeats. "Thanks mate. I just need some sleep."

"Ok. Ok dad.", Wilbur says and Phil closes his eyes and drifts off quickly again. Tommy swallows a lump in his throat.

The two of them curl at each of Phil's sides that night, falling asleep with the sick man between them.

* * *

The next morning the little pitter patter of rain had somehow turned into a tumultuous storm in the midst of their slumber. Tommy awoke first, staring at the ceiling first as if the great storm would make it collapse on top of him and his sleeping family. He looks, seeing Wilbur still sleeping at Phil’s other side. His glasses were crooked on his face and if Phil were up, he’d lightly laugh and take the item off the boy’s face before folding them and setting them safely to the side. 

Tommy lets his eyes wander to his father. He’s unsurprisingly still asleep, but his face is still flushed from fever and his breathing is still as uneven. He frowns, curling more against the sleeping figure and scrunching his eyes shut. He knew his dad would get better soon, there was no other option in his mind, but it sure was taking long.

Wilbur wakes next. He sits up from the bed, rubbing his eyes before the noise of the storm outside registers in his mind. 

“No- It can’t be..”, He says as he gets off the bed and over to the window. He pulls the curtains to the side and looks at the sheets of rain pour outside, his heart sinking when the light from lightning flashes through the sky, and the resounding thunder that follows makes Tommy jump slightly and cling to his sleeping father. “I can’t make it to town like this.. But dad..”

“Wilbur?”, Tommy says at the fright in the other’s voice. Wilbur swallows before he moves away from the window, fists closed as he walks away. 

“I- I’ll go make dad some tea.”, He eventually says before he leaves. Tommy frowns, but stays next to Phil as another thunderous sound resounds through the air.

“Come on big man. Please wake up.”, He mumbles, but Phil doesn’t open his eyes. Instead he makes a whimpering sort of noise in the back of his throat before he shifts in his sleep. His hovering continues and Tommy huffs. Maybe it was all that constant shivering keeping the main stuck in sleep. He pulls the covers more over Phil.

Wilbur comes back an hour later, tea in hand, and he looks conflicted before he shakes the man awake.

“Dad- You need to wake up..”, Wilbur mumbles as he shakes the man. Phil groans, eyelids seeming so heavy as he slowly opens them. Unshed tears from blearniess coat his eyes and the man is too tired to even wipe those away.

“Wilbur…”, He mumbles.

“Dadza-”, Tommy says but Wilbur keeps going.

“You need to drink this. Then you can get as much sleep as you want.”, Wilbur almost pleads and Phil through his bleary thoughts nods slowly. He sits up a bit, arms slightly shaking and wings tensing as he holds his weight up. Tommy put a hand on his back as if it would help.

Wilbur puts the cup up to his lips, watching as the man takes a few sips before he drinks more of the liquid as if he has never drank anything before in his life. Phil coughs slightly when he’s finished, shakily putting a hand over his face before he mumbles something Tommy and Wilbur can’t quite catch. 

“What was that?”, Tommy asks but Phil lays back down, hair falling over his face. Wilbur reaches out and pulls the golden strands away with a frown. 

“Dadza..”, Wilbur mumbles and takes Phil’s hand. His concern makes the pit in Tommy’s stomach grow.

“I’m fine..”, Phil mumbles. His speech slurs a bit and the man closes his eyes once more. “I’m fine..”

The two of them watch Phil fall asleep once again. Tommy wipes away growing tears in his eyes. The storm outside continues. He looks at his brother and WIlbur stares at the sickly man, holding onto his hand as if he was the sole one keeping him afloat. They both don’t say anything. Their usual noisy chatter is lost to the worried thoughts that blanketed them both.

* * *

The next day Tommy awakes to crying. He shoots up, surprise overtaking him when he sees it’s Phil. He frowns, not knowing what to do. He’s seen Phil cry before. He always cried whenever he was very happy, and they would all tease him for it despite the joy it brought them to see it. Or sometimes the man would laugh so much until he brought himself into a fit of hiccups that brought tears to his eyes that he would wipe away with a great smile.

These weren't those sort of cries though. It was the kind of cries Tommy would have when he had a nightmare and Wilbur would awake from his sleep a few feet away in his own bed and go over to comfort him.

“Dad?”, He asks with uncertainty. He could barely see in the dark, but he could see the way his figure shook with each quiet sob. “Wilbur- Wilbur wake up!”

Wilbur shot up, looking at his brother before he saw his father. He scrambled and lit the lamp at the side of the bed.

“Dad? Dad are you ok?”, Wilbur asks with an edge of panic creeping in his voice. 

Tommy yelped when the sound of the front door opening downstairs could be heard. 

“The wind probably knocked it open!”, Wilbur says as he jumps up. “I’ll be right back!”

Tommy scrambles to tell him to wait, to stay with him, but Wilbur is already out of the room. It’s just him and his father seemingly clinging to life itself. He buries his face in Phil’s wings, feeling the soft fathers brush against his face as the man cries. He mumbles reassurances he’s not even sure of himself, but anything is better than just staying silent.

“Phil.”, A great voice says and Tommy gasps, looking over. He’s all at once swept with a great relief that would have made him grin if it wasn’t for the situation.

Beside Wilbur at the doorway stood the great figure of his older brother, the water from the rain dripping off of him and soaking the floor, but the man walks over, lips in a thin line as he goes closer.

“Techno! You’re back!”, Tommy says but Techno’s focus is on Phil, his hand over Phil’s forehead.

“A fever..”, He mumbles. He looks at Wilbur and Tommy. “Do you know if he hurt himself recently?”

“What?”, Wilbur asks in confusion. He slightly nods. “Um..He mentioned going to the mines the other day. A baby zombie surprised him-”

Techno curses, pulling the covers off of Phil and ignoring the violent shivers that wracked through the man’s body. He looks, taking the man's arms and inspecting them for any injuries. It’s not until he looks at his father’s leg that he strightens.

“A cave spider bite- How did he miss it?”, Techno mutters. He almost sounds angry as he says it, but he quickly runs out of the room, coming back shortly with a glass of milk in his hand.

“Milk? Techno- Dad needs-”, Wilbur starts, but the man ignores him, instead helping the limp body into s itting position. He shakes Phil until the man wakes up, a groan leaving his lips and more tears falling from his eyes.

“Phil. I need you to drink this.”, Techno says as he puts the glass of milk to his lips. He helps the man drink from the glass, only stopping once the glass is empty. Phil blinks a few times and Techno gently helps him lay back down. All at once the crying stops, and Phil’s body untenses like a great weight had been taken off of it. The man sinks into the bed, a sigh going through him before he dizzily looks up.

“Techno?..”

“You idiot.”, Techno says but shakes his head. He snorts. A mixture of amusement and relief as he takes his skull mask off his face. “You put your body through hell not taking care of it..Would have killed a normal man. Get some rest.”

Phil hums, and if he understood anything that was said no one could say. He drifts off to sleep, his breathing even for the first time since he got sick. Techno pulls the covers back over him before looking at Tommy and Wilbur.

“Three days. I’m sorry I couldn’t make it sooner.”, Techno says with a sigh. He shakes his head. “I’m sure you two did your best though. Milk helps spider bite poisons..”

“Poison!?”, Tommy gawks and Techno snorts with a nod.

“Yup. He should be better now. Let the old man rest though.”, He says.

“How did you know he’s been sick for three days?”, Wilbur asks.

“I heard Tommy’s prayer.”, He said as if that makes sense. “I heard Phil’s too last night. Barely could understand it but I came as soon as I could..”

“Prayer?”, Tommy questioned. “When did I..? How-”

“Listen you two- Whenever you need me, call my name and speak. I’ll come running.”, Techno says with a smile. He ruffles Tommy’s hair. “Now come on lets let him sleep. I brought some gifts and food home.”

“Gifts!”, Tommy exclaimed and Wilbur quickly shushed him. He laughed a bit and says a sorry but looks back at Phil sleeping with a frown. “Are you sure he’ll be ok?..He was crying-”

“I promise. You should know dad’s tougher than to let some spider get him.”, Techno says and Tommy laughs a bit.

“Yeah- You’re right.” He says. He takes Techno’s hand and the three of them quietly leave the room to leave the angel to rest.

The next time the angel awakes, he feels exhausted. Every muscle in his body felt as if it were put through a wringer, and his wings felt stiff from disuse. He sits up, nose scrunching at the sickly smell that seemed to cling to him. Ebbing of distant memories play and he suddenly feels alert.

“Shit! Tommy? WIlbur?”, He calls out and after some footsteps, he sees three figures come inside.

“Dadza!”, Tommy yells and the child bounds towards him with his hands out, almost crushing him with the force he runs and hugs the man. Wilbur isn’t too far behind. Phil blinks before he hugs his boys with both his arms and wings.

“Are you ok? Oh gods- How long was I asleep?”, Phil asks and Techno crosses his arms.

“Been sick for three whole days.”, Techno says. “A spider bite. Why didn’t you treat it?”

“A spider bite?..”, Phil asks as he places a hand on his chin in thought. “I only remember getting chased by a baby zombie. An armored little fucker too-”

“Must have slipped under your radar then..”, Techno says with a groan. “Never again old man.”

“Yeah you scared us!”, Tommy said but quickly coughs. “Well- Actually you scared Wilbur more because I knew you’d be ok..”

“Hey!”

Phil laughs a bit, and Tommy smiles. The awful sickly red was gone from his face and replaced with his dad’s normal rosy cheeks. He looked tired, but that good tiredness you get after a long day's work.

Everything was back to normal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeahh :) I gotta stop hurting Phil im so sorry y'all. 
> 
> I was thinking of putting a sort of tables of contents as the first chapter so ppl can go to chapters they want but Idk if that's a good idea.


End file.
